Khrystian King readies for his crowning moment on Council

Thursday

Dec 31, 2015 at 5:01 AM

Above: Khrystian King/Joe Santa Maria photo

When Khrystian King takes office as an At-Large City Councilor in January, he will be making history. In a city frequently cited for its diversity, King will become its first black councilor in 15 years – and the first black male councilor since before World War II.

The Council has had 11 white members, or 10 out of 11 white members, for long stretches, and King will join with District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera to make one of the most diverse councils in recent memory – with two candidates from communities of color.

“It has a lot of significance,” Worcester NAACP president Pat Yancey said. “It’s been too long since we’ve had an African-American sit on the City Council, and we’re excited that people were engaged enough to vote for a qualified and committed candidate.”

Stacey DeBoise Luster was elected in 1997, making history as the first black woman to earn a seat on the City Council. She was reelected in 1999, but resigned to take a position with Worcester Public Schools in July 2000.

Before Luster, the last black City Councilor was Charles E. Scott, who served from 1918 to 1921 and from 1926 until his death in 1938. Before Scott, G. Alfred Busby served one term starting in 1903. Although both Scott and Busby were elected in a time generally viewed as less tolerant and accepting than the 21st century, the two black candidates elected since then lead to some hair-raising statistics.

For example, more black councilors served in Worcester before the passage of the 15th amendment to the Constitution – which guarantees voting rights regardless of race – than have served since then, although King will bring that ratio into a tie. And there was a 59-year gap between Scott and Luster where Worcester’s black population did not have any representatives that looked like them, despite an increase in Worcester’s overall racial diversity in that time period. Another 15-year gap will separate Luster and King, marking seven recent elections where no black candidate was successful in their bid for a seat.

Current At-Large Councilor Konnie Lukes, for another example, has more years of service on the Council than every black member in Worcester’s history, combined.

King, a first-generation American whose family immigrated from Bermuda, said he is aware of the implications of his victory, calling to mind Busby, Scott and other trailblazers.

“I think it’s very important that a city’s government is a reflection of its population,” King said. “I think that’s significant. I think it’s certainly good for the Council to have a well-rounded voice.”

Still, Yancey and King were both quick to point to his qualifications as the main reason he was elected, including his career as a social worker and his experience advocating for youth.

“Being committed to the city in the way that I am, as a result of losing friends to gun violence when I was a young adult, I think that resonated across race, across parts of the city – a commitment to youth, a good work ethic,” King said.

When Luster resigned, Juan Gomez took her place, breaking into the Council as a Latino candidate. He went on to win reelection twice, before losing his seat in 2005 and narrowly losing to King for the sixth at-large seat this year. Rivera was elected in 2011 as the only non-white member of the Council, at a time when the rest of the city’s representative bodies are lacking in colo. Hilda Ramirez’s defeat on the School Committee side will lead to seven white members there (including the mayor), while all five of Worcester’s state representatives are white.

“It’s not the only time I’ve been the only person [of color],” Rivera said. “It’s not the most uncommon thing in the world. I know what it is to be in a classroom and I’m the only student of color, or a meeting or a training or a workshop.”

Rivera said the idea that all heads should turn toward her when a racial issue comes up – as they have, in candidates’ forums before, she said – was flawed, since all councilors should represent their entire constituency. Just as she is not just representing Latinos, white candidates are not only representing whites. Still, she said, there are valid reasons to desire governmental representation that looks representative of Worcester’s black and Latino populations – firsthand knowledge and experience being the foremost advantages.

“You could be the most sensitive, egalitarian man in the world, if you’re with three of your girlfriends and they’re talking about their menstrual cycles – if you come in and say, ‘Yeah, that bloating is awful,’ they’re going to say, ‘What are you talking about?’” Rivera said.

Likewise, Yancey said firsthand experience, like the kind King has growing up as a black man, cannot be replicated or reproduced by anyone else.

“The diversity of voices is very important,” Yancey said. “It takes a person of color to know the community of color and how things impact us on a personal level. [King’s] experience as a person of color can’t be replaced by anything else. Living in Worcester, living in any community is unique, different from living as someone who is white or Latino. That experience and cultural competency gives him a more holistic and deep understanding of what’s going on in our community.”

The west side of Worcester is famous for having high voter turnout, while more urban areas tend to have worse voting rates – and the demographic differences in those two areas are frequently cited when explaining why more candidates of color aren’t elected. Communities of color aren’t voting, goes the argument. Rivera said, regardless of voter turnout, candidates of color face challenges while campaigning that white candidates do not.

“People would question my level of education and assume I didn’t have one. People would assume I wouldn’t speak English,” Rivera, who has a doctorate degree, said. “I remember knocking on a door in a predominantly white area, and I don’t think this was malicious, but this person wanted to be supportive, and they said, ‘don’t worry about the white vote, because they’re not going to vote for you.’ … They didn’t say it in a malicious way, but that’s the ignorance.”

King, who also ran an unsuccessful campaign for state representative in the 16th Worcester district in 2013, mentioned negative experiences on the campaign trail, but said overall the campaigning experience was positive.

“That’s something as a black male, you experience in life,” King said. “[But] we received a tremendous amount of support here in the city.”

Yancey said King’s election, “adds more richness to the tapestry Worcester is,” and would be beneficial for future generations of hopeful political leaders in communities of color.

“I think it’s important that young people of color have role models in all levels of leadership, because without people who look like you in these positions, it’s hard to visualize yourself getting there,” Yancey said.

King had a similar point, making sure to cite those who went ahead of him in the political arena, and expressing hope that his candidacy would have an impact.

“Bill Coleman, a perennial candidate, I remember being a young boy, playing basketball, and when I looked in the paper, he was the only person who looked like me,” King said. “And he was a candidate. It had an impact on me. And now I’m knocking on doors, seeing little boys and girls who look like me. You hope to influence folks to be active in their community. I hope this candidacy shows that hard work and community commitment can win you an election despite how you look, where you come from or who you are.”

Still, King’s overall goal is simple – to be an effective City Councilor and to help make Worcester a better city.

“At the very first Council meeting, none of this other stuff matters,” King said. “At the end of the day, this matters to me personally a great deal … I’m not going to say it doesn’t matter. It absolutely matters to my family and my friends, and it’s a source of pride for our city, so I don’t want to downplay it at all, but at the end of the day, when you sit down at the Council, you have to do your work, find out how to build relationships and find out how to get things accomplished.”

Reporter Tom Quinn can be reached at 508-749-3166 x324 or tquinn@ worcestermagazine.com with story ideas, feedback, or questions. Follow him on Twitter @bytomquinn.